It’s sobering that some of Jesus’ harshest condemnations against sin was against the sin of hypocrisy and that it was leveled against religious leaders, the category to which we belong as pastors. I’d like to quickly disqualify myself from being included in the group of the condemned, but it’s this very desire that gives me pause. Perhaps I shouldn’t jettison too quickly the possibility that there might be hypocrisy in my own heart!

An occupational hazard for those of us who are public spiritual leaders is to project an outward image that’s more Christ-like than the way we are behind closed doors or in the privacy of our own hearts. We can become both comfortable and adept at living something of a double life. Let me be blunt; if a sampling of our thoughts were projected onto a screen before our congregation on Sunday morning most of us pastors would be out of a job come Monday morning!

We pastors should make personal application of a familiar teaching of Jesus’ that we find rather easy to preach or teach to our congregations. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:3-5)

True, as pastors there’s a proper role of judging that comes with the calling. We’re to judge whether someone is fit for a specific church position. We have an obligation to confront overt and unrepentant sin within our congregation and not simply look the other way. But what’s our attitude when we have to carry out such responsibilities?

Recently I’ve been involved, along with others, in helping a person identify significant sin in their life that the person has failed to deal with. All of us involved have tried to be led of the Lord as to how we carry out this discipline. Surprisingly, in this process I’ve experienced a fresh awareness of how my own heart isn’t what it ought to be.

Of all people, we who are charged with preaching the good news of God’s gracious desire to forgive and sanctify should have the courage to hunt for the hypocrisy in our own hearts. The goal? To be the same person within that we seek to project outwardly! The onion is a good metaphor; no matter how you slice it, it’s the same all the way through! It may sound odd but what I know I should aim for is to have an onion-like heart!